Meridiana

I flew yesterday from MRU to FCO on the B767-300 (763) registered I-AIGG. When I read the reviews on here I was a bit worried about the flight. Its true the flight was fours hours late and I didn't receive any notification from Meridiana. For a planned 6am flight four hours makes a big difference when you need to wake up early. I checked with the airport and they advised to come four hours later. The flight itself was fine. The economy seats are high density but they are comfortable. The crew were excellent and really did a good job throughout the flight. Food-wise it was fine but for a 10.5 hour flight the offerings were a little thin. The addition of a free service bar would be a useful addition.

We have just returned from Cagliari to LGW. In view of the really cheap prices and previous poor reviews I had low expectations. Check in was a breeze at LGW and Cagliari flight took off on time. Ok the seats did not have much leg room but we hadn't paid first class prices by a long way. Amazingly we were served free coffee soft drinks and a snack! will definitely use again.

We had excellent flights on Meridiana as we traveled from JFK to Naples and back. The plane appeared to be fairly new and the cabin clean. I might also add that the departure flight and the return both arrived ahead of schedule. There were 6 flight attendants on the return flight to JFK including 4 stewards and 2 stewardesses. They were particularly attentive and the food they served was excellent. Beverages flowed throughout most of the trip and that included complimentary wine. We flew Economy class and had no issues at all. If you are considering a flight with Meridiana do not hesitate they exceeded our expectations.

We flew from Malta to Naples via Catania. The seat space on both legs was very small there was no customer service. We got our first leg boarding pass in Malta but were told we had to get a boarding pass for the second leg in Catania. Even though our baggage was forwarded through to Naples. There is no transit desk in Catania (there is a well identified Transfer desk but it is not used). The service at the Meridiana desk was very poor. The service staff were rude and unhelpful. I will never use Meridiana again!

My family and I traveled from NYC to Naples in July 2013. Departure time was delayed 3.5 hrs. Once we arrived at the terminal there were no Meridiana representatives to advise the crowd of waiting passengers. This is the first sign that this is the norm for Meridiana - constant delays of 3-4 hrs for every flight out of JFK to Italy. The company did not offer any vouchers for drinks or food. Finally at 11 pm a Meridiana supervisor showed up with limited information. Once you finally board the plane be ready to feel like you have gone back in time by 30 years. Meridiana uses a fleet of Air Italy airplanes. These planes are very old and dirty. My family and I would rather fly to Rome or Milan and then to Naples or better yet to Dublin and then Naples with Aer Lingus.

My family and I just returned from Napoli to NYC. My husband and I were traveling with 3 small children. When we arrived at check in more than 2.5 hours in advance we were told that we were not listed on the flight. We had our flight confirmation in hand. The 5 seats they assigned to us on the airplane were nowhere near each other. My children were assigned seats on their own! I have never heard of such a thing. Their excuse for our seating assignments was that we checked in late. We were one of the first people in line. Each staff member passed this problem onto the next from check in to boarding until we were standing in the aisle of the plane minutes before it took off. They were only able to sit me with one of my children and my husband with another. My third child I had to have sit with a family friend who were 40 rows in front of me. I would never fly with them again after today's experience.

Last Saturday I flew Milan Linate-Olbia Costa Smeralda. Originally booked the early morning flight but was rescheduled on the next flight. No explanation or other option given. Meridiana still operates the old MD80: my plane was at least 20 years old and did show its age - no in flight entertainment at all - even the in flight magazine was missing. Seats are quite comfortable though. Cabin crew looked lazy - coffee tea water and juices free of charge. Prices are way too high but on this route they are the only ones flying. Talks by itself. If you can avoid it.

Naples to New York. The service was the worst I have experienced. We had to wait over 2 hrs to receive any drinks. When they finally came around I asked for some water and the flight attendant said he only had tea. I had to get up and ask another flight attendant for some water and he just pointed at the pitcher as he continued to play with his ipod. All three of us applied for the hifly program a month before flying and never got an email back with the frequent flyer number. I called a week before going on the flight with some questions about changing our seats to make sure the 5 year old was seated with us together and were told by a very annoyed representative that we had to pay 20 euros per person to select a seat by phone. I have never experienced such poor service.

I flew from Rome to Olbia and back with my family of 4. For FCO-OLB leg I purchased the ticket for the mid- day flight. It got cancelled and we had to take the evening flight as others here have reported. That flight was delayed for more than an hour so we arrived much later than anticipated. Our baggage was delayed for more than 3 days.

Both our flights Naples-Olbia and Cagliari-Rome were cancelled at short notice without explanation and both were rescheduled for several hours later. Consequently we spent a lot of our Sardinian holiday hanging around airports. Very disappointing considering we had booked and paid for these flights several months in advance and planned our holiday to suit. It seems they offer a variety of flight times to sucker you in then cancel them all for a single evening flight. They had our phone numbers but just didn't bother. A long way to come from Australia to suffer poor service.